The International Cricket Council (ICC) is reportedly considering October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, as the opening date for the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi.

He played a significant role in the history of South Africa (hosts) and India. According to reports, the ICC initially planned to kick off the tournament on October 08, but has revised plans to coincide with Gandhi’s 158th birth anniversary.

Hence, the tournament warm-up matches will have to begin in September. The global event will have 14 participating nations to be hosted across 12 venues in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Eight cities across South Africa, three in Zimbabwe and Namibia’s Windhoek will be the venues to host the upcoming edition of the tournament.

The ICC has made a massive change to the World Cup format, which has created controversy, with the three bottom-ranked teams to play a trilateral series of sorts to decide the final 12, called the Super Series round.

The winner will be joining the other 11 teams to form a 12-team field. Those teams will be split into two groups, followed by a Super Seven stage, the semi-finals and the final.

The report didn’t mention whether October 02 will mark the start of this tri-series of the Super Series.

Mahatma Gandhi, who is considered as father of Nation, and architect of India’s freedom movement, spent 21 years in South Africa, making the ICC’s move a tribute to a leader who is hailed as the Father of the Nation in India.

Initially, the ICC had intended to begin the World Cup on October 08, after holding the warm-up matches in the first week of the month, from October 01 to 7. Now the revised schedule is likely to see the championship begin on October 02, with the warm-up matches squeezed in before that.

The final is expected to remain on November 21, which means the 14-team World Cup will run for around 50 days.